Self-orienting liquid crystal doped with polymer-azo-dye complex

Abstract

We investigate into a new type of liquid crystal (LC) heterogeneous system that contains hydrogen-bonded polymer-azo-dye complexes at a low concentration. The suspension shows a unique self-orienting property and a spontaneous anchoring transition from planar to homeotropic alignment on a rubbed polyimide surface. We suggest a simple polymer adsorption model to explain the universal homeotropic orienting property. The complex-doped LC suspension can be used as a new liquid crystalline material that does not require any additional alignment processing or treatment.